CALGARY – Death is not the easiest of topics to discuss with children.

In a fictional account, Calgary author Karen Petkau tackles the touchy subject in her book If Heaven is so Great, Why Can’t I Go – Now?

In promotional material, the plot is described: “While Mom is explaining why Grandpa died, Charlie becomes more and more interested in being in a place where there is no pain, suffering, bullying, or hardships. He decides that if heaven is so great, then he should be able to go there now.”

Petkau, a parent of two teenage children, says the book is for children, but also a great resource for parents.

If Heaven is So Great, Why Can’t I Go Now? is available in paperback and ebook format on Amazon and Barnes &amp; Noble websites, or through any major bookstore, including Chapters and Blessings.

Here is an edited version of a recent interview with Petkau.

Q: What made you decide to write this book?

A: “About two years ago, my friend Carrie, who was also one of the teachers in our church’s Sunday school program, called me at home. She wanted my advice. She had been walking with her three-year-old son Keeghan and he had wanted to know what heaven was like. When she started to describe how great a place it was, he said he wanted to go there.

We talked about what she could have told Keeghan to persuade him that he was needed on earth, and why he was so important to God. After I hung up the phone, I sat down at the computer and wrote the bones of If Heaven is So Great, Why Can’t I Go Now?”

Q: Is it a more timely topic now with the book and movie Heaven is for Real out?

A: “I think we all wonder what heaven is like, what happens when we die and how we can escape all the hardships and anguish we have here on earth.

Is it a timely topic? How could it not be? It is a topic that is always on the hearts and minds of many, whether they are Christians or non-Christians . . .

If my book helps change people’s perceptions of what it means to believe in something more than themselves, then I’ll be grateful. It isn’t the messenger; it is the message.”

Q: Why is it hard for parents to talk about death with their children?

A: “I think it is hard because parents don’t really understand it themselves. We like to believe we have all the answers and can explain our beliefs when we are asked but the truth is, we often can’t. We get bogged down in our own struggles to understand death; the justice or injustice in it, the ‘where do you go’ aspect of it and why it has to happen in the first place.”

Q: Can you explain the religious/spiritual basis for the book? Is it geared primarily for a Christian audience?

A: “I don’t think it is. Yes, I am a Christian. Yes, it mentions God and heaven in it, but the root message is so basic and so elemental that you don’t have to be a Christian for it to make sense.

When Charlie is asking to join his Grandpa in heaven, what he’s really asking is to go to a place where there is none of the things he sees on earth: pain, suffering, bullying, name-calling — everything every child, teen and adult deals with on a daily basis. Whether you are Christian or not, we are all faced with the nasty aspects of human nature — just look at all the cyber-bullying that has crushed spirits, and lives.

Being a Christian, however, makes me go to ‘the source’ for the answer: God.”

Q: What is the book’s main message?

A: “That life isn’t all about ‘me.’

If Charlie was a great friend to someone, if he was a great brother to his sister, if he was a great son to his parents and if he showed others how much they are loved and how much God loves them, through his words and actions — all of that is what life is all about.

If we keep that in mind, we won’t get lost; we won’t get so despondent when we are hurt. We would just need to remind ourselves that we can be that positive influence and we can be that inspirational message to others. When we do those things, we are found.”

Q: How have people reacted to the book?

A: “Wonderfully! I have had parents tell me they cried when they read it because it made sense. When it published, I started a Facebook page and posted updates, page excerpts and photos to promote it. Within two weeks, it had more than 90 likes. I’ve had requests for copies from all over the province, and even my home province of Newfoundland.

I’m now booking appearances at bookstores to sign and sell hardcopies, which is also great.

I think people have responded so positively because they love the message and how it is delivered, and because children’s book illustrator France Brassard did such a bang-up job on the illustrations.”

Q: Do you have any other similar books on the horizon?

A: “Yes, actually. There are many topics parents are reluctant to discuss with their children because of their own struggles with understanding. For example, this past April, my niece asked me to explain Easter to her four young girls, all of whom were under five years of age.

I mean, we’re talking about Jesus being tortured, crucified on a cross and dying, and then coming back to life — you don’t have to be a two-year-old to not get that.

So, I tackled it in an email, in language the girls could understand and relate to, and have since been asked to write it in book form. So, who knows?”

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This story was produced by the Calgary Herald in collaboration with SAIT Polytechnic to promote awareness of this topic for commercial purposes. The Calgary Herald's editorial departments had no involvement in the creation of this content.